


Vita Mechanicalis

by nursemchurt



Category: BUCK-TICK
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, M/M, Organized Crime, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Violence, Warnings May Change, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-19 21:52:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14246499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nursemchurt/pseuds/nursemchurt
Summary: Magical AU based off the imagery of the No.0 album





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **My first time doing a long-form fiction**

Hisashi looked out the window of the carriage as the gaslight lamps lining the street came on, one after another, as the sun set in the distance. Opposite of him, his father was finishing up packing tobacco into a wooden pipe. Once he was done, the older man brought the pipe up to his lips and lit it with a flame that sparked from a snap of his fingers.

“My son,” he said after blowing out his first puff of smoke, “This is an important day in a young witch’s life you know!”

Hisashi turned to his father and nodded his head before going to look out the window once more. For witches, the coming of age tradition of summoning a familiar was one of the more important event in their lives. Until the age of fifteen, the magic one was taught was the kind that could safely be used by one’s self; sigil writing, controlling a small flame, and other minor spells. Of course, one’s bond with their familiar determined how much stronger magic one could potentially wield. For the eldest son of Masato Imai, a well-respected elder witch and businessman in Gunma, the importance of what he was about to undertake had been seared into his mind since he could remember.

“I know father. I hope it’s something cool like a dog! A French Bulldog would be neat.”

“A familiar is not a pet Hisashi!”

 

Having left their town behind and travelling through the forest, the carriage driver brought the horse to a halt in front of a path leading up into the mountain at the center of the woods, two gas lamps dutifully standing guard on either side. The carriage driver stepped down from his perch and proceeded to open the carriage door Hisashi was seated near. Picking up his pack from under his feet, Hisashi turned to his father, who placed a hand on the boy’s slim shoulder and gave a squeeze of reassurance. From this point forward, Hisashi would have to face the ritual alone.

He made his way up the wooded path, which despite the lack of more lamps was easy to navigate due to the full moon shining in a clear sky studded with stars. Hisashi was thankful of this. The countless twists and turns as he took the path further up the mountain would be difficult to navigate under other circumstances, he thought. As he never cared to wear a watch, Hisashi was unsure of how long he had been walking. Long enough to feel a mild cramp in the bottom of one of his feet, which was far too long as far as he was concerned. Just as he felt his other foot cramp in protest as well, he finally reached the end.

In front of him was a small, old, yet clearly well-maintained wooden temple of sorts. A few steps led to the entry door and next to that hung a small but unlit kerosene lamp. Taking the lamp down, Hisashi brought his hand close to the wick and snapped his fingers. A spark of a flame, not as steady as the one his father made to light his pipe earlier, appeared and transferred onto the oil-soaked wick, giving him the light he’d need to work his summon once inside.

The building was only one room and sparsely furnished. Silver paint decorated the pale wood of the walls and glittered as Hisashi brought the lamp closer in order to investigate the work. Simple drawings of animals along with various protective sigils covered nearly all of the four walls. At the center of the room was a small, low table with spell supplies on it and around that an unfinished summoning circle laid drawn out on the floor. Taking a deep breath and letting it slowly back out, Hisashi kicked his shoes off and sunk down into the circle, and after setting the lamp down on it he searched the table beside him for chalk to complete the circle, sealing himself within a protective bubble that rose up from the markings on the floor once it was finished. It was time to begin.

The summoning ritual for finding the familiar a witch would bond with for life was effectively simple, but it didn’t stop Hisashi’s family from drilling it into him until he could recite the steps frontwards and backwards without hesitation or mistakes.

A stack of long tapered candles piled neatly like logs, a penknife, and a well-read tomb opened to the incantation he’d need to recite were all laid out on the table beside him, as well as a flask of water, a small closed pouch, and the lamp he had brought in with him.

Getting immediately to work he took the penknife in one hand and one by one began engraving sigils into the soft wax of the candles. Once the five candles had been properly decorated, he sat the penknife back down on the table and began to set each of them on the points of the pentagram that had been drawn around him in the circle.

Taking the flask next, he removed the stopper and slowly poured water around the exterior of one candle, taking care to make sure it washed across every last bit of its surface. He then took the pouch and opened it to reveal the sand stored within. Taking a pinch of it between his fingers, Hisashi proceeded to dust it over the candle to the right of the first.

Working in a clockwise rotation, he then conjured a flame between his fingers which he lightly grazed the next candle with, but not lighting the wick. At the next candle, he reached out for the penknife once more and felt a slight hesitation. For this one, Hisashi would need to cover the candle with his own blood.

Flinching slightly as the tip of the penknife pierced his thumb deeply, he gently squeezed his thumb above the knuckle to coax out a drop of blood. Hisashi began to stripe his thumb down the candle, wincing as the engravings pushed against his broken skin as they beckoned for more blood to fill their crevices with. Before moving onto the final candle, Hisashi paused to nurse his bloody thumb. He held his thumb in his mouth, feeling queasy from the copper taste that followed, and finally shifted the pack he had held on his shoulder this whole time into his lap so he could pull out a handkerchief that was inside to bandage himself with. Moving onto the final candle Hisashi leaned over it and began to softly blow.

As he did the flame within the kerosene lamp began to grow dimmer and dimmer until it finally flickered out, engulfing the windowless room in darkness. Shortly after, the wicks of the candles begin to glow as a flame began to emerge from them as if flower buds blossoming on the stem. The candles’ flames created a light brighter than any normal candlelight, causing the room to glow and shimmer as the paintings on the wall played with the light.

Finally, it was time for his true test.

 

Opening the pack in his lap again, Hisashi removed a small guitar and a pick. Holding it with his right hand on the neck and his left hand readying the pick he did not play. Instead, he began to speak the words of evocation that the book on the table had been opened to. However, he did not use the book and closed his eyes, drawing what he needed from within his own mind.

The words belonged to a long dead language and felt to Hisashi as if he was reciting a nonsensical poem, but he understood their meaning. A prayer to the Moon asking her guidance in finding a spirit willing to entwine themselves with him until his final breath. A promise that he would gift them a spot in his heart and soul only for them.

He recited the words over and over, and soon after began to play his guitar, eyes still closed. The melody combining with the chanting to create a song, and at some point he heard another voice fill the room and meet his. Repeating the words back to him the mysterious voice did, but singing them to the tune of his guitar instead. The voice was so beautiful that it brought chills to Hisashi and he gradually brought his chanting to a halt in order to focus on the voice more. He felt what he thought must be two hands running up the back of his head and down over his face. The singing voice grew closer from behind him as well as the feeling of a figure pressing against his back. Doing his best to ignore the hands wrapping him into an embrace Hisashi continued to strum at his guitar.

Finally, the voice’s singing came to an end. Hisashi shivered as he felt soft breathing against his ear as the voice whispered, “Open your eyes.” Snapping them open on command, Hisashi dropped the guitar and spun around in search of the voice and its owner. A sick feeling started within his stomach as he found nothing behind him, and it grew into a dread as he realized the magic from the ritual had dissipated.

Hisashi slumped to the floor groaning as he pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. Was that it, he thought to himself, was what happened just a prank from the other side as they rejected him? Hisashi had heard of that happening before, familiars deciding a witch wasn’t worthy of a bond. He knew that a witch rejected on their first attempt might eventually be able to bond with a familiar, but all he could think of was how badly he would be letting his family down tonight. For the ritual, it was expected of him to stay inside the small temple until they came to let him out at daybreak.

The thought of spending the night in this tiny room with nothing to show was too much for young Hisashi and he began to feel tears of shame and anger fall from his eyes. Softly sobbing, he curled up on his side and laid on the hard wooden floor with his eyes tightly shut, and he stayed there until the feeling of something small and rough brushing his cheek took him by surprise.

Hisashi carefully opened one eye and found he was face to face with a large black cat that was currently lapping away the tears on his face. The cat, noticing the boy in front of it was awakening, stopped licking and sat back on all fours, large golden eyes peering back into Hisashi’s own brown ones.

“A cat,” he said aloud making it sound more like a statement than the question of surprise it had been to him. Slowly he reached out a hand, giving it to the cat to smell before gently petting the top of it’s head. The cat stretched into his hand and purred happily.

 

A beam of light stretched across Hisashi’s face and he threw an arm over his eyes as it widened over him. He heard a voice gently calling to him.

“Hisashi dear, it’s time to come home.” He moved his arm and opened his eyes, looking up at his mother standing over him. As he was about to sit up, Hisashi became aware of a weight sitting on his chest. It was the cat from last night, currently folded into a neat loaf staring at him with its bright yellow eyes. He coaxed the cat off him so that he could get up off the floor and collect his belongings, and then stooped to pick up the cat, carrying it in his arms like a baby.

“Oh my, what a handsome little guy you found,” His mother said while scratching the cat under his chin, “You two are going to be a real pair of lady killers later on.”

“Mom!!” He cried as she ruffled through his messy mop of brown hair.

“Alright my dear boy, your mother will stop embarrassing you. By the way, what’s his name?”

Hisashi gulped. He remembered drifting off to sleep shortly after meeting his familiar, the ritual itself and the moments after having taken a toll on him physically and emotionally.

“I… He hasn’t told me yet.”

“Oh, hmm. Well, I’ve heard that even as familiars cats can be kind of difficult. Let’s go home, maybe he just need time to adjust to his new surroundings love.” With that, Hisashi’s mother headed towards the door and Hisashi followed suit.

 

As the carriage Hisashi and his mother rode approached their house, they were greeted by the rest of the family waiting at the entrance. Heading up the short steps to the front door Hisashi was swarmed by his younger siblings who were all bubbling over with curiosity and excitement.

“Were you scared Hisashi?”

“Ah it’s a kitty! Don’t let it eat mommy’s familiar!”

“Can she do tricks?”

“Why didn’t you ask for something cool, like a DINOSAUR?”

“I wanna pet it!”

Hisashi felt the cat begin to purr loudly and flick its tail. While he wasn’t familiar with cats he could sense the anxiety emanating from it. Once in the foyer, the cat leaped out of his arms and ran up stairs with an agitated vocalization. Hisashi ran after it while his parents stepped in front of his siblings as they attempted to follow suit.

“That’s enough everyone!” Masato boomed, “Let the poor thing settle in before you all dive on it like a flock of pigeons after a piece of bread!”

The cat barrelled down one wing of the upstairs hallway, stopping once it realized the only one chasing after him was his new witch boy. The cat turned and glared at Hisashi, meowing grumpily.

“Hey cat. I’m sorry, my brother and sisters can be really annoying.” He pointed behind his shoulder, “Um. My room is on the other side, you should follow me,” and turned to walk in that direction. The cat stayed behind, licking its paw to clean its face and whiskers, before pouncing after Hisashi.

 

The door to his room was at the end of the hallway to his left. The bedroom was nothing particularly special. There was a bed, a desk, some bookshelves and a dresser. A window with curtains drawn open faced the trees planted in the backyard. The sun filtered through as a warm beam draped across the bed. As Hisashi unpacked his things, the cat curiously sniffed around, investigating the room until he settled into a ball on the sunbeamed bed. Hisashi sat down next to the cat and gently pet it.

“So, I know you don’t talk like people but I know witches are supposed to be able to communicate with their familiars and I don’t even know what your name is? Do I have to try to guess it?” As if in response, the cat opened one eye at him.

“Okay, so is it… Smokey?” The cat flicked his tail.

“Maru?” The cat grumbled and stretched out, tail still flicking wildly.

“Tubby?” The cat rolled to clamp its paws around Hisashi’s arm and bit at his elbow. Hisashi jerked his arm away with a yelp. “I’m sorry! Why won’t you just give me your stupid name already?” Ignoring him now, the cat began to lick its belly. Hisashi stared at the creature he had brought home and sighed. Together they stayed on the bed like that for some time until inspiration flashed in Hisashi’s mind and he gave another try at the cat’s name.

“Gustave.”

The cat paused in mid-lick.

“...Is that it?” Cautiously, he reached out his hand again to pet the cat, who immediately stretched his front paws around it and began to lick at his wrist with a purr. Hisashi laughed at the tickling feeling of the cat tongue against skin, “Hey c’mon, that feels weird!” The cat complied and switched to nuzzling his arm with his furry little head.

 

“It’s nice to meet you Gustave.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I debated on whether or not to use Japanese honorifics or not, but my weeb side was too strong and they're in here, sorry.
> 
> I've actually been up typing like a madman since I posted the first chapter, but I'm going to pace putting them out unless people prefer a big multi-chapter drop. Please let me know your thoughts on that! :)

Months passed, and Hisashi found very little different in his new life with Gustave. The cat was still silent but was always found somewhere watching over him during the day. At night and in the morning he would find Gustave curled up by him on his pillow, but Hisashi had a feeling as if the cat did not spend the entire night with him. Since meeting Gustave, Hisashi began to have occasional recurring dreams. In them he was running through the streets of Fujioka at night, but not as himself. He dreamt he was a cat, a black cat, which made him wonder if he was dreaming he was Gustave or if maybe they weren’t dreams at all.

 

One morning after one of his Gustave ‘dreams’, Hisashi was brought back to reality by someone knocking on the headboard of his bed. Nervously standing beside his bed was a young boy a bit shorter than Hisashi.

“Ah… I’m s-sorry Imai-s-senpai! Mrs. Imai asked me to come wake you up… Ah, p-please don’t get mad at me!” As Hisashi sat up in his bed, the boy flinched and took a small step back.

“Yuuta what the hell,” Hisashi scowled at the boy, not because he had woken him up but because of his fearful reaction, “I don’t bite.”

“S-sorry. Everyone else didn’t want to do it, and you do always seem a little grumpier in the mornings…” Yuuta trailed off, running a hand through his short dark-colored hair.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hisashi looked down beside himself on the bed expecting Gustave to be there but not seeing the cat. “Hey Yuuta, did you see Gustave when you came in?”

“I didn’t but I did notice that your window is open! You should be careful, you can get sick sleeping like that on a rainy night like last night.”

“Whatever. Go tell my mom I’m up and I’m gonna get dressed now.”

 

Once Hisashi arrived downstairs he was greeted by his mother with a cloth wrapped box as he had slept through breakfast. Meeting his siblings and Yuuta in the foyer, he noticed a taller boy there with them that he recognized as Yuuta’s classmate Hide.

Yuuta and Hide were a year lower than him, but Hisashi had met Yuuta a few years ago when he used to spend mornings in his family’s shop by the train stop they both would take to school. Back then, they used to ride with Yuuta’s older brother but he had dropped out in order to work full time to help out his family. A few weeks into their current school year Yuuta made friends with Hide and began to bring him by the Imai residence in the mornings as well.

Knowing the status and reputation of the Imais in town, Hide was initially reluctant to come, but he began to relax as he found Mr and Mrs Imai to be kind people who invited friends of their children into their home with open arms.

The Imais felt that their children were the most important part of their lives and they strived to give them the best life they could. Finding out their usually quiet and shy Hisashi was making friends brought them joy.

 

Heading to the front gates of the house and down the street with his friends and one of his sisters in tow, Hisashi nervously looked around. Gustave still hadn’t been found this morning and he was beginning to worry that something had happened to his familiar and thought back to that night’s dream.

As Gustave in it, he was prowling the perimeter of the house. A suspicious raccoon was sighted trying to open one window after another on the ground level without success. Gustave had tried to sneak up on the raccoon but he was noticed and the raccoon took off with a dash. Gustave took off after it, leaving the house behind and taking pursuit into the town. It started to rain but Gustave refused to let that stop him, and he finally caught the raccoon in the warehouse district crawling into one of the steam-powered factories in the area.

Gustave looked in and saw the raccoon run up to a group of men gathered in front of the assembly line in the factory. He couldn’t hear the men over the sound of grinding gears, roaring furnaces, and pounding rain outside. Empty-handed feeling, Gustave turned around and was about to make his way back home until he heard the sound of dogs barking behind him. That was all Hisashi could remember until he was woken up by Yuuta.

Unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong, Hisashi debated cutting school and trying to find his familiar. Of course, doing so would likely get his friends and sister in trouble for not stopping him. Luckily for him, this wasn’t a decision he had to make as he heard a yowl coming from one of the alleyways down the street. Dashing into it, he saw his familiar curled up far into the back of a box on its side, trembling and disheveled looking.

“Gustave! Oh my God, Gustave!” Hisashi cried out as he scooped the pitiful looking cat out of the box and into his arms, “What happened to you? You’re not hurt are you?” The cat simply curled himself further into Hisashi and began to purr so loudly that Hisashi could feel it in his own chest.

“Hisa!” His sister yelled into the alley from the main street, “Why are you-- Oh no is that your cat?’  
“Masako, we need to get him help!” Feeling tears prick at his eyes, Hisashi fought them back. There was no time for crying, he needed to make sure Gustave would be alright.

“We’re almost to the train, let’s give him to Papa! He’ll know what to do.”

 

Running to his father’s shop, Hisashi left the rest in his dust. Once inside, he felt the tears again and could no longer hold them back. The older Imai gently lifted Gustave from the younger’s arms and held a hand hovered over the cat as he murmured a spell under his breath. As the space between the cat and his hand glowed, he waved it across Gustave from head to tail and back.

“Don’t worry my son, it looks like he’s not badly hurt, but being out all night in the rain isn’t good for any cat, even a familiar,” Pulling the handkerchief that he kept folded in the pocket of his jacket, Masato took it and wiped Hisashi’s wet face softly. Hisashi took the handkerchief from his father and rubbed his eyes into it.

“Now, why don’t you settle down and get to school with everyone? I’ll make sure Gustave is taken care of until you get back this afternoon.” Still sniffling a little Hisashi nodded at his father and turned to leave the shop.

 

It was hard for Hisashi to focus in school that day. Even his class partner Araki tried his hardest to cheer him up without even a groan from one of his terrible jokes. Hisashi knew that while familiars were spirits from the other side in animal form that could effectively live as long as their bonded witch they were still technically mortal. Witches and familiars with stronger bonds could share pain or protect one another from miles away. All he could do as far as he could tell was dream into his familiar, and even that was something he felt no control over. What he dreamed about last night was definitely what Gustave had been doing while he was in bed, and he was mentally kicking himself for not being able to do more than watch until he was thrown out.

Thrown out, he thought, how was I thrown out? Lost deep in thought, he paid no attention to his teacher calling his name until it was harshly shouted out, “Hisashi Imai! Is the history of Gunma too boring for you?”

Coming back to reality, Hisashi blushed as the classroom erupted into laughter. “No sir, I’m sorry.”

“Then you won’t mind doing some extra homework on it for me. I want an additional report on the history of our public transportation system by the end of the week!”

 

At lunchtime, Hisashi met his friends outside under their favorite tree, but had no desire to converse or eat, and fed the parts of his lunch that he could to Yuuta’s squirrel and Hide’s fox while everyone else chatted. Araki’s familiar was an iguana and spent his time at school sitting under a sunlamp in their classroom.

Before the lunch period ended, Hisashi was surprised by something hitting the side of his head. His friends laughed as he reached up to find a paper airplane stuck in his hair. Disinterested, he tossed it aside and Araki reached over to unfold it.

“Oooh, looks like you’ve got another admirer Hisashi-kun,” Araki teased before reciting the contents of the note in his best falsetto, “Imai-senpai. I have something I need to confess to you. Please meet me alone behind the school once classes end. XoXo, Your secret admirer.”

“What a bother. I don’t have time for this today.”

“Come on now Imai-senpai,” Yuuta interjected, “It probably took them a lot of courage to do this. Even if you’re just going to turn them down, they deserve to know that instead of being left wondering!”

“Yeah! Listen to the squirt,” Araki said, ignoring the grape Yuuta tossed at his head, “Besides, even if you’re not interested maybe it's a cutie and you can invite her to your birthday next month. Y’know, for me.” This time he was pelted with grapes by both Yuuta and Hide.

“I guess it won’t take long. Wait with my sister at the school gates and I’ll meet you afterwards.” The boys all cheered and sucked Hisashi into a group hug until he shoved them off.

 

When the final bell sounded, Imai headed out behind the school. Back there was an empty field leading to a forest, and he spotted a girl in their school uniform waiting by the trees. As he got closer the girl waved at him with a smile that gave him an odd feeling. She almost looked terrified to be there.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You’re the one that asked me here.”

“I… I know that, Imai-senpai. I was worried you wouldn’t come.”

“So, what did you want to tell me?”

“...I’m sorry Imai-senpai,” tears begin to bubble over in her eyes and stream down her face, “I’m so sorry! They told me if I didn’t help! My family! I’m so sorry,” the girl dropped to her knees sobbing frantically.

Hisashi tried to turn to run, but he felt something whip around his ankle, causing him to fall face first into the grass as he was dragged into the forest. He tried to dig his nails into the earth under him and kicked his shoes off trying to break free. As the school grew smaller in his sight he heard a man’s voice above him.

“Shit he’s going to be fighting the whole time. Alright then, it’s time to sleep.”

Hisashi’s vision blurred as his eyelids grew heavy and closed on him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one this time, but I promise to have at least one more by the end of the weekend!

At the school gates, Masako looked down at her wrist watch with a frown. The boys had told her what her brother had gone to do but she was growing impatient with him.

“That’s it I’ve had enough,” she stormed off in search of Hisashi, “If he makes us miss the last train this afternoon we’re stuck here until the night ones start, and I will *not* have that!”

“Hey hey, come on now Masako-chan, what if uhh y’know,” Araki started, “Uhh he decided not to reject her after all??”

“Even worse then! He can suck face on his own time!”

 

As the group made their way behind the school they saw a girl running at them. She threw her arms around Masako, crying loudly.

“They took him! They took him! I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault!”

“Shh, shh,” Masako cooed, stroking the girl’s hair in an attempt to calm her, “Who took my brother? I promise I won’t let you get in trouble, but you have to help us find my brother. Will you come back home with me so we can tell my parents?”

Still crying, the girl nodded, “Please. They threatened to kill my parents if I didn’t do what they said! I was so scared I didn’t want to hurt him.”

“Of course you didn’t, you just wanted to protect your family, but we have to hurry if we’re going to save him okay?” Masako looked at the boys, “Why can’t any of you have a damn familiar that flies?”

 

Hisashi groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. Wherever he was was poorly lit and damp. He realized he was sitting up and tried to move his legs, only find they had been tied down and his arms bound behind him. He was pretty sure whoever did this was smart enough to seal his magic but he still tested making a flame with his fingers. There was a snap, but he felt no flame. Feeling helpless and frustrated, Hisashi screamed out and it echoed around him.

I should have stayed home with Gustave today, he thought, cursing all the misfortune that happened since last night. Closing his eyes again, Hisashi began to pray silently for help.

 

Back home, the entire Imai family was in an uproar. The girl explained that her father had acquired a large gambling debt he couldn’t pay back. The gang holding the debt came by that morning with an offer to wipe it; Get their daughter to help them kidnap the son of Masato Imai, or be executed in front of her. She told them of how she was asked to lure him out alone, and when she described the men waiting in the woods with her, she was met with great alarm from Masato and his wife.

“Fumiko,” Masato said turning to his wife, “It looks like the Kamikawa gang is back.” Fumiko nodded solemnly.

“Alright sweetheart, we promise your parents will be safe. Boys can you get her home? It’s going to be dark soon and I’m sure her parents are worried for her too,” she said as she walked them all out, exuding the same calmness under fire that Masako clearly inherited. Before heading back inside, Fumiko extended her hand into the sky and waited until a swallow flew down to perch on it. Bringing her familiar down to her face, she whispered at it and sent it flying through the town.

Masato hung up the telephone and headed up the stairs of his home. He had just finished reporting his son’s kidnapping to the local authorities. He asked the Chief of Police to keep him informed of their whereabouts, reminding her that he would not stand aside as long as his family was involved. As he had worked with them six years ago to shut down the Kamikawa gang and their drug running business in Gunma, they knew what the man was capable of and accepted his help once more.

Masato had brought Gustave back to the house earlier that day and had left him sleeping on Hisashi’s bed. The cat had not been injured but was very exhausted, and he hoped that it would be in a condition to help find its master. However, when Masato entered Hisashi’s room Gustave was nowhere to be found. Seeing the window curtains move he ran towards them. Wind was blowing in from the opened window which had not been opened earlier.

 

Hisashi was not sure of how long he had been sitting tied up in the dark, but it had been long enough that his eyes stung at the first bit of light he’d seen since he’d awakened. The door to the room he was being held in had opened and for the first time he could see his surroundings. He was being held in what appeared to be a small cellar stocked with various pantry goods. The door to the cellar was like a hatch in the ceiling with stairs leading down, and there was currently a figure making it’s way down to him. With the light shining from behind, it was hard for Hisashi to make out more than the large, bulky outline of what he thought was a man. He tried to stay calm as the figure lit a lamp, surprised that he had used a match instead of magic. Hisashi wondered if that meant that the entire room was warded against magic.

As the man drew closer Hisashi could finally make out his face. It was stony and full of harsh edges, as if the man had literally been chiseled. His clothes were plain and appeared a bit tattered. He saw the glint of the lamplight shining off a particularly dangerous looking knife in the man’s other hand as he hung it on the wall, and Hisashi tried to swallow the lump he felt forming in his throat.

 

“Well, it took months of scouting but we finally found an opening to get back at that son of a whore Imai,” the man said as he lazily waved the point of the knife at Hisashi’s face. “That was smart of you, taking your cat out on midnight patrols like that, but you got cocky and now we’ve got ourselves a bargaining chip.”

“Whatever you want, my father won’t let you get away with kidnapping me for it!” Hisashi spat back, terrified for his life but not wanting to show it, “If you’ve dealt with him before, you know what he’s capable of!” In return, Hisashi’s face was met with a thundering backhand studded with metal rings. The force of it snapped Hisashi’s face to one side and he felt an explosion of stars behind his eyes.

“We know exactly what your old man is capable of,” the man laughed cruelly, “Which is why we don’t expect to send you back in one piece. Hopefully, he’ll get the hint while there’s enough of you left. Oh but don’t worry, we’ll wait a little before we start shipping off bits of you home. At least give him the time to read over our demands. I’m just down here to get some things for dinner!” Still laughing, the man rooted around the pantry shelves. Once he got what he came for he picked up the lamp and blew it out before heading back up the stairs and shutting Hisashi into darkness again.

He was feeling weak, useless, gullible, and helpless, all of which made him sick to his stomach. His face still burned with pain and Hisashi wondered if anything had been broken. Not knowing what else to do, Hisashi uttered an incantation for protection. This was more to attempt to calm himself as he knew he had no magic trapped in this cellar.

 

Masato met the Chief of Police and a search team at the school, hoping there was still a trail to track. The search team was made up of the police’s trained dogs and familiars of witches with tracking skills. A crew of pigs and some rats were out tracking the scent from the shoes Hisashi had left behind, while a team of birds flew over the forest allowing their witches to see through their eyes.

“Mr. Imai, maybe it would be better if you stayed back in town. I doubt these idiots were so stupid that they’re holding him so close by the scene of the crime.”

“Chief Ueda, I can’t sit by idly while my son is missing,” Masato began to protest as the chief’s crow flew down and landed on the chief’s shoulder. Ueda turned to the bird and then to Masato.

“The birds aren’t seeing anything out of the ordinary and we’re getting reports that the scent trail dies off by a stream. I’m sorry. The Kamikawas seem to have picked up some new tricks while they were away. We’ll continue investigating around town, and I hate to say this, but, maybe you should go back home and see if they’ve delivered a ransom note or anything yet.”

“I left my familiar at home with my wife in case of that,” Masato replied, feeling the heat of anger rise in his face, “Damn it why did they get my children involved in this?”

 

Sometime later, Hisashi had drifted asleep and he had a very unusual dream. In it, he felt himself floating in a void with no sense of direction. From a distance, any distance as far as he knew, he heard a voice crying out for him.

“I’m here!” he shouted back, hoping they would be able to follow it to him. As they continued to call out Hisashi heard the voice grow closer and closer and recognized it as the mysterious voice he’d heard at the familiar summoning.

“Hisashi… Hisashi, where are you? I can’t see you,” the voice cried, it’s invisible hands frantically moving across his face and hair.

“I don’t know,” Hisashi said and suddenly added, “Gustave, is this you?” The hands stopped and the voice gave no reply.

“It is you, isn’t it? I don’t really know where I am Gustave. They knocked me out at the school and I woke up in some basement. Gustave please, they’re threatening to cut me into pieces to send back home, I don’t wanna die!” Hisashi let out a cry and felt himself being pulled into an embrace by the invisible figure, a head settling in at the crook of his neck.

“You won’t die, I won’t allow it. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you and I’ll never let it happen again,” the figure stroked Hisashi’s hair tenderly as it spoke, “Please stay strong, I’m coming to find you.”


	4. Chapter 4

Night rolled into day as Hisashi’s parents kept watch in hopes of any news from anyone regarding their son. As the two were slowly succumbing to sleep on the sofa in the drawing room, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Looking up, Fumiko was greeted by the sight of one of the maids opening the door and walking in.

“Ma’am, excuse me but I found this envelope slipped through the front door.” The maid handed the envelope to her. “I can’t believe anyone could have taken Young Master from us. I’m praying to the spirits we’ll have him back home safe soon,” she said, leaving her employers to read the note in privacy.

Gently shaking her husband awake, Fumiko showed him the envelope. It was sealed with wax bearing the mark of the Kamikawa gang on it. Tearing it open with the nail of her thumb, she read it out loud, voice growing shaky with each word.

 

_ Masato, _

_ You know what we want and we expect you to comply. _

_ Step aside or you’ll never see your son whole again. _

 

“Masato, what have you gotten my son into,” she cried, thrusting the letter into his chest, “What have you gotten this *family* into?”

Holding his wife close, he turned to face her, nose to nose, forehead to forehead. “Nothing that I regret, even now. I aim to protect my town and I would give my life for this family. You know that love.”  Fumiko’s hands reached up to hold her husband’s face between them.

“I know dear. I just hope you won’t have to.”

 

No one had come back down into the cellar since the man with a knife and Hisashi was unable to even guess how long ago that had been. As he hadn’t eaten much the other day, he had been feeling pangs of hunger in his stomach and his mouth was growing dry as well. Left alone with his thoughts, he continued playing the previous day in a loop, pointing out every opportunity he’d had to have changed his fate. Suddenly, the door above was thrown open and the man from the other night made his way down.

Lighting the lamp and hanging it on the wall again, Hisashi noticed that instead of a knife the man was holding a waterskin. Turning to face Hisashi, the man opened the skin and thrust it against Hisashi’s mouth, water dribbling off his face and down the front of his shirt.

“Drink you idiot! You’re no good to us if you die too early,” the man cackled as Hisashi complied, desperately chugging the water once it touched his whitered tongue.

“Your old man should have gotten our letter by now. Honestly, we doubt he’ll give in right away so we’ll be sending him another message tonight. We’ll let you pick where to start, do we send dear daddy an ear or a finger?” The man laughed once more, pulling the waterskin from Hisashi’s lips and pouring out the rest of the contents over his head as he stared at the man in revulsion. Leaving the lamp the man left the cellar, closing the door behind him.

Feeling humiliated and defeated, Hisashi tilted his head back and squeezed his eyes shut.

 

That afternoon, Masato met with Chief Ueda and some of the Police Chiefs of other neighboring towns in Gunma.

“Alright,” Chief Ueda started, “As we all remember, six years ago the Kamikawas attempted to spread their influence into Gunma. It was thanks to the Imai family’s cooperation that we were successful at seizing their shipments of contraband into our area and ultimately dismantling them as an organization. Or so we thought.”

The intelligence the police of Gunma were able to uncover painted a story of a shadowy benefactor moving into Kamikawa with the intentions of rebuilding the Kamikawa gang. Chief Ueda had hoped to get the Kamikawa police to cooperate, but she had learned from her contact there that nearly the entirety of the police force was in the pocket of the Kamikawa gang, including their Chief.

“They’re back, and are focused on retaliating against the Imais for their part in busting them. We’re going to take this opportunity to launch a strike before they can even get established in Gunma. We’ll be operating under three groups. Our search team is still currently out looking for Mr. Imai’s son, and are also scoping out possible hideouts being used by the Kamikawa. A small reconnaissance team will take the leads from the search team and report back on where the boy is being held and what condition he may be in. Once we received word that we can extract the boy safely, our raid teams will strike at the Kamikawa. Hopefully we catch them with their pants down and end this swiftly.”   


Chief Ueda knew that Masato’s interest in helping them was not entirely altruistic. While Masato was well known as a merchant with a lucrative importing business and part of a particularly strong magical bloodline, the Imai family had spent decades building other business ventures as well. Some of which were not exactly legal, much to Chief Ueda’s chagrin.

In a way, the Imai family was the bane of Ueda’s entire police career, and she blamed them squarely for having gone full grey back in her 30s. But as she rose up the ranks, she began to see the world in the same greys of her hair. Eventually, she accepted that if they had knocked down someone with as much influence and power over Gunma that there was no guarantee that whoever came to fill that vacuum would be any better.

In fact, as she had learned, the Imais were probably one of the more humanitarian of the witch families that ran Japan in the shadows. The thought of worse families gave her chills.


	5. Chapter 5

Hisashi had fallen asleep again, and found himself in another Gustave dream. The cat was back at the warehouse district. With the clear weather today, he found it easier to stay on alert as he investigated.

Heading back to the factory he had followed the raccoon to, he found nothing but employees working the assembly line, so he decided to sneak into the warehouses hoping for more clues. Gustave found nothing of interest save for a meat locker with some chicken that he decided needed a closer look.

Leaving the meat locker, Gustave was disappointed at the idea of returning home empty handed. Hearing footsteps, the cat dove for cover.

Heavy boots stomped down the cobblestone sidewalk past where Gustave was hiding. As he peered out of his hiding place to get a look, the cat had to fight back the sudden urge to jump back.

“That’s him! That’s him!” Gustave froze in a panic as he heard Hisashi yelling inside his head, “That’s the man that has me!” Gustave took off after the man, doing his best to stay hidden as they headed into a more populated area.

“Gustave, go get help as soon as you see where he’s going to. I’m okay for now but please hurry.”

As Gustave set off on pursuit, Hisashi felt himself pulling out the dream and back into his own subconscious.

 

Back at their house, Masato paced around his study puffing furiously on his pipe. There really was nothing more for him to do until he heard from Chief Ueda, and doing nothing was one of his least favorite activities.

Stopping in front of the large window in the study, Masato didn’t notice his wife enter until she’d pulled him into an embrace from behind. As he brought his hand to gently squeeze hers, she leaned the side of her face into his tweed jacketed back and sighed.

“Honey, you’re going to kill yourself with worry at this rate. Come downstairs with the children. I’ve been making preparations with your sisters to do a seeking ritual at sunset and we’ll need everyone’s strength to amplify it enough.” Masato hummed in agreement.

Downstairs, the three youngest Imai children huddled together on a sofa in the drawing room, eyes red and puffy from crying for their older brother. The eldest daughter Masako was walking in from the front foyer with Hisashi’s friends following behind.

The boys had come straight from the train back from school that afternoon. Hearing the rumors about their friend’s disappearance spread through the classes so soon did nothing to ease their worried and guilt-ridden minds, and so they wanted to be there for any news on his whereabouts.

“Guys, go on ahead and wait in Hisashi’s room,” Masako said gesturing up the stairs, “And make sure the window is opened. Father said Gustave has gone missing again.” The boys went where they had been directed and Masako headed out back behind the house to assist her aunts in the ritual preparations.

Masato and Fumiko walked past the boys, who all quickly greeted the two as they crossed paths, and headed down the stairs together. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were met by a ferret in a mad dash at Masato’s feet, climbing up him while frantically chattering. Cradling his arm against his chest to give the ferret a ledge to rest on, Masato stroked down it’s fur in an attempt to settle it.

“Hana, settle down. Tell me what’s wrong,” locking eyes with the ferret, they stood there motionless for a minute until Masato suddenly turned his head to find his wife.

“Fumiko, have the staff ready the carriage! We’ve found our son!”

 

After following the man to a small house in the woods, Gustave had made his way back to town, seeking out any of the familiars on the hunt for Hisashi as well. After explaining the situation to a raven, he then returned to the small house and stood watch over it. Since the time he’d gotten back, there had been no one entering or exiting the house. He even cautiously peeked into the windows to make sure the man was still inside. As the sun sank lower, Gustave wondered if help would arrive in time. He heard something approaching and turned towards the sound.

A slender figure covered in a dark hooded cloak headed towards the house holding a small chest in their hands and a fat raccoon followed at their heels. A sword carried on their belt peeked out from the cloak. As they entered the house, Gustave carefully approached to watch the windows. Worrying that help would be too late, he started to think of a Plan B.

 

Hisashi stirred awake at the sound of the door to the cellar opening. This time, he noticed another person heading down the stairs with the stony faced man. The person, whose face was obscured by shadows from the hood they were wearing, knelt down in front of Hisashi’s feet to place the chest and then moved aside for the other man to step forward. He was brandishing the knife again and had a twisted smile on his face.

“Well, I guess it’s time for us to send our next message. So which will it be? Right ear or left?”

Panicking, Hisashi squirmed in the chair. The man held Hisashi’s chin in one hand and turned his head to one side. Hisashi struggled to keep facing forward and received a blow to his mouth with the hilt of the knife. His teeth rattled and he tasted copper in his mouth.

“Sonny, the less you fight the cleaner I can make this cut, alright?” As he tried once more to turn Hisashi’s head, he was interrupted by the hooded person behind him.

“Hiro, I need to head back up. My familiar was chasing a furry intruder but I feel something has gone wrong. They may have found us.” With that, they turned around and sped up the stairs, a faint sound of another door slamming in the distance.

 

Hisashi had already lost his concept of time down in the cellar, but suddenly he felt as if time in that moment had slowed to a crawl. Pushed to one side he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, barely noticing that noticing some of them were loose. As he felt the blade of the knife push against his skin, Hisashi took deep breaths to keep from crying out. The knife dragged slowly down the back of his ear. Clearly the man was going to take his time to punish him for fighting back. Suddenly, the knife stopped, and then pulled away from his ear. Debating if he should risk it, Hisashi felt the man’s hand leave his chin. That settled it and he opened his eyes, his mouth dropping open at the sight.

The man was standing, arms limp and to his sides, but clearly not on his own accord. Hisashi saw fresh blood down the man’s shirt, too much to be from his ear. As he followed the trail up, he found the source. The tip of a blade protruded from the man’s neck, causing blood to flow out of it. He watched as the blade was pulled back in, and the lifeless body of the man dropped to its knees and then was pushed aside, revealing who was responsible.

 

A young boy, maybe Hisashi’s age, stood there with a short sword in hand. His shirt was blood splattered, as was the bit of his face that Hisashi could see behind long straight black hair draped around him. Stepping forward, the boy sliced through the ropes holding Hisashi hostage and pulled him up to his feet, using his free arm to steady him.

Slowly, Hisashi was guided up the stairs and once at the top he took a look around the place where he had been kept underground. It was a small one room building, sparsely furnished with only the basics for survival, only they had all been tossed about like a small storm had come indoors. Also tossed aside Hisashi noticed, was the lifeless body of the person in the cloak, whose hood had finally come down revealing themselves as middle aged woman. Her cloak was thrown open, the scabbard on her belt empty. Realizing that her head had been bent to an unnatural angle on her neck, Hisashi looked away as he leaned on the boy as he led the way.

 

Once outside, the boy set Hisashi on the ground, using the exterior of the house to sit up against and then sat down next to him, setting the sword aside. Hisashi turned to face the boy, who reached out to cup his face, thumb gently brushing over his busted and bloody lip. Suddenly, the boy pulled him into an embrace, warm and almost familiar.

“Hisashi I'm so sorry. I should have done better to watch out for you. I should have been there with you that day,” he said. Not having seen him before made his apology confusing to Hisashi. “That stupid raccoon and those stupid dogs chased me all night. I didn't want them to know what I was so I couldn't get back home.”

“Gustave?” Hisashi asked weakly. It hurt badly to move his face to speak, but when the boy didn't answer he had to again. “Why aren't you a cat anymore?” The boy continued to hesitate and just held Hisashi tighter, buying his face into his shoulder. Just then they heard the sound of speeding horses and others approaching the small clearing the house was in.

Hisashi turned to the sound and saw his father on horseback leading a small group of officers. As the horses were brought to halt, Masato climbed down and rushed to his son, moving Hisashi from the boy's arms into his own.

 

“Oh my boy, my boy,” Masato cried as tears spilled over his face, “I'm so glad we found you! If it wasn't for your Gustave…” He trailed off, looking at the bloody boy sitting next to his son, “Child who are you? What were you doing here?”

The boy stared at Masato with wild eyes as if afraid to speak at first, “I... I worked for the people who kidnapped him, but I'm not a bad person please!! I don't have any parents and they made me keep watch! I couldn't let them hurt him so I… So I…” The boy started hyperventilating, his eyes darting as if looking for a way to escape. In an attempt to calm him Masato placed a hand on his head.

“Sometimes, in order to survive, we have to do things we don't agree with, but that doesn't mean we can't ever do the right thing again. You didn't need to save my son, but in the end you made an incredibly difficult and selfless choice, and for that I owe you a great deal. Please, come back to town with us. We'll take care of your wounds and see what we can do to repay you for what you've done.” Masato stood up, supporting his son with one arm and placing out his other hand to help the boy up. As he got on his feet, the boy spoke again.

“Atsushi. My name is Atsushi.”

“Well then Atsushi, let's go home. It's dark out.”

 

Back at their home, Hisashi was immediately spirited away by his aunts, rushing him to his room to care for his wounds. Fumiko, seeing the bloodied boy that walked in with her son and husband, rushed him into a bathroom and insisted he cleaned up right away. After bathing, Atsushi changed into the clean clothes Fumiko left him and headed straight to Hisashi’s room without asking for its location.

As he made his way down the hallway, Atsushi was stopped by Hisashi's aunts as they left his room. One after another, they greeted and thanked him with the kinds of hugs and kisses only an aunt can give. Atsushi wiped at his cheeks after, hoping they didn't mark him full of lipstick, and then made his way to see Hisashi.

 

His face heavily bandaged on one side, Hisashi sat propped up by pillows in his bed, eyes shut as he finally found rest. As Atsushi stepped closer he saw Hisashi's eyes open to meet his gaze. Hisashi pointed at the left side of his mouth and winced as he tried to pull his face into a grin. There was a tooth missing. Atsushi smiled back.

“Y’know, I told him there’s better ways than that to stop girls from sending him so many love confessions but,” Araki said trailing off, sitting at the foot of Hisashi’s bed. Also in the room were Hide and Yuuta, all faces familiar to Atsushi but were staring at him with the suspicious eyes one gives a stranger.

“Thank you for saving our friend. That was very brave of you,” Yuuta said, breaking the silence. Turning to face Hide, who had been sitting next to him on the floor, Yuuta motioned with his eyes for him to say something next.

“Yeah, thanks. Um… So your name is Atsushi right? Did you see Gustave by any chance? He’s Imai-senpai’s familiar, a big black cat.”

“Yes I did. I saw him in the window a bit earlier today,” Atsushi cringed internally, hoping Hisashi witnessing the preternatural ease at which he could weave stories didn’t harm whatever was left of their relationship after revealing his biggest lie, “I told him to go get help for his witch but help hadn’t arrived yet and I couldn’t bear to let them hurt him!”

“Gustave will be home soon,” Hisashi croaked out, “I can feel it. You guys should go home too. I just want to go to bed now.”

The boys said their goodbyes to Hisashi and made their way out of his room, Atsushi trailing behind them out the door but returning minutes later. Feeling sheepish, Atsushi kept his distance from Hisashi until the boy beckoned him closer.   
  


“I’m so glad we were able to get you back home His--” He was cut off before he could finish.

“Why didn't you tell my dad who you are? Why didn't you tell me you could do this? What are you really, enough lies already” Hisashi's eyes narrowed, not in anger but in disappointment.

“To be completely honest, I wasn't sure how?” Atsushi scratched at the back of his neck, “This is… Ah… I've never been a familiar before, and I didn't see any of the others…” Atsushi trailed off, looking down at a fixed point in the rug by the bed, “I think I did something I wasn't supposed to. I'm not a regular spirit, I'm a bakeneko.”

Hisashi stared at Gustave, Atsushi, whatever his name really is, not knowing what to say next. Bakeneko are supernatural creatures who were once ordinary cats. They have the ability to shapeshift into humans, but are also known to eat humans as well as bring misfortune. And he was now learning that he had bonded his soul to one.

“Hisashi. When I heard you play that music, it stirred something inside of me I haven't felt in ages and I felt compelled to answer your request. But after what's happened I think I made a terrible mistake. This is clearly my fault and I’m only going to cause you more trouble,” He continued to look down, ashamed to meet Hisashi's eyes again until he felt fingers sliding to lace with his own. Raising his head until he met his gaze, Atsushi watched as Hisashi shook his head softly and smiled.

“Not a mistake. Being in this family is trouble. You saved me,” Hisashi said as he closed his eyes, the desire for a peaceful rest finally overtaking him. Standing over watching the soft rise and fall of his sleeping chest, hands still entwined together, Atsushi leaned forward to barely brush his lips against his forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of this story arc!


End file.
